these days, the tonight show, "nightline," and the letterman show are likely to have 25%. that's what's happened because what you didn't have 35 years ago was cable, satellite, you know, the internet. and all of those things have diluted the importance and the reach of the network. >> so maybe twilight is too soft a word? [laughter] >> no. because you still have, even though it's only 25%, the evening newscasts, for example. among the three of them i suspect they still have between 15 and 20 million viewers every night. >> more than that. 20-25 million. >> when you and i were reporting from the state department, it was 40 million, 50 million. i mean, i think cronkhite alone probably had about 20 million people. >> every night. that certainly is true. the responsibilities of journalism to democracy and to our society, i want you to talk about that a little more. i want you to explain to me why there is this connection between the flow of news and a vibrant society. >> look, if the american public, the voting public, is ignorant of the issues, is uninformed, how can it make